Puritan John Owen Focused on Christ

Dan Graves, MSL

Church History Timeline

John Owen's later years were hard. As a young man, he had been
majestic in appearance; but long hours of study, the many troubles of
his life, and disease wasted him. He died on this
day, August 24, 1683 at Ealing (a few miles from London). But his
funeral showed how highly he was regarded, for throngs attended,
including many notable men.

At Oxford University, which he entered in 1628 at twelve years of
age, John pored over books so much that he undermined his health by
sleeping only four hours a night. In old age he deeply regretted this
misuse of his body, and said he would give up all the additional
learning it brought him if only he might have his health back.
Naturally, he studied the classics of the western world, but also
Hebrew, the literature of the Jewish rabbis, mathematics and philosophy.
His beliefs at that time were Presbyterian, however, his ambition,
although fixed on the church, was worldly.

John was driven from Oxford in 1637 when Archbishop Laud issued rules
that many of England's more democratically-minded or "low" church
ministers could not accept. After this, John was in deep depression. He
struggled to resolve religious issues to his satisfaction. While in this
state, he heard a sermon on the text "Why are you fearful, O you of
little faith?" which fired him with new decisiveness.

After that, John wrote a rebuke of Arminianism (a theology which
teaches that man has some say in his own salvation or damnation although
God is still sovereign). Ordained shortly before his expulsion from
Oxford, he was given work at Fordham in Essex. After that he rose
steadily in public affairs. Before all was over, he would become one of
the top administrators of the university which expelled him and he even
sat in Parliament.

He became a Congregationalist (Puritan) and took Parliament's side in
the English Civil Wars. Oliver Cromwell employed him in positions of
influence and trust, but John would not go along when Cromwell became
"Protector." In spite of this, many of Parliament's leaders attended
John's church.

John's reputation was so great that he was offered many churches. One
was in Boston, Massachusetts. John turned that down, but he once scolded
the Puritans of New England for persecuting people who disagreed with
them.

He also engaged in controversy with such contemporaries as Richard
Baxter and Jeremy Taylor. Through it all, John focused his teaching on
the person of Christ. "If Christ had not died," he said, "sin had never
died in any sinner unto eternity." In another place he noted that
"Christ did not die for any upon condition, if they do believe;
but he died for all God's elect, that they should believe."

John wrote many books including a masterpiece on the Holy Spirit.
Kidney stones and asthma tormented him in his last years. But he died
peacefully in the end, eyes and hands lifted up as if in prayer.